For more information on any of the ministries below, please contact the church office at 661.255.1301 or email umcv@umcv.org.

F.I.S.H.

Feeding Individuals and Sharing Hope

F.I.S.H. is a ministry that can involve the entire family. Volunteers gather at the church every Thursday evening (rain or shine) at 6:30 p.m. to make sack meals of sandwiches, fruit, dessert, chips and water. The team caravans to the back of the K-Mart where families arrive and are greeted at 7 p.m. The food is then distributed.

Each week approximately 50 meals are passed out along with additional food items. At Christmas each child receives a special gift chosen specifically for them and special Thanksgiving food bags are also donated by church members.

One hour of time makes a significant difference to our F.I.S.H. families. Unpaid servants can choose the dates that they would like to help.

Meals Ministry

Meals are provided for members of the congregation experiencing an illness, surgery or the birth of a baby. Meals can be home cooked, store bought, or gift cards for restaurants.

When there is a need for meals, the chairperson emails the members of the team. Information about the meals that are needed is provided at a special online site. If you are available to make or bring a meal, you will be provided with the number of people eating, address, any health issues, dietary needs of the family and time to deliver the meal. Unpaid servants choose the date that they are available.

Food Pantry

Communion Sunday Food Drive

The Santa Clarita Food Pantry and Help the Children are two local organizations that our church supports through the Communion Sunday food drive and Angel Food Ministries. The pantries provide supplemental food to the residents of Santa Clarita and have experienced a significant increase in individuals seeking assistance during the past year.

Grocery bags with a list of current needs are distributed the week before Communion Sunday which is the first Sunday of the month. The filled bags are placed behind the parked cars in the church parking lot, and volunteers collect and deliver the bags. Each month individuals also order boxes of Angel Food to be donated to the local food pantries.

Unpaid servants collect and deliver the bags on a rotating monthly basis.

Hill's Angels

Youth Prison Ministry

Help incarcerated youth at the LA County probation camps who are searching for redemption, direction and meaning. Connect with God through weekly non-denominational Bible studies, Sunday worship, one-on-one religious counseling and special events, which include bi-monthly Game Nights where volunteers enjoy an evening of conversation and board games with the youth.

Cheerful Givers is another fellowship opportunity, where young women and volunteers make crafts to give away to others. There are special celebrations for Thanksgiving and Christmas with food and music. Unpaid servants can be involved in one or more activities as their schedule allows.

Fingers of God

Summerhill Villa is a happier place on Wednesdays and Fridays when unpaid servants share God's love with the residents of the Assisted Living and Alzheimer's unit for men and women. Activities change every week and are often driven by a passion of the volunteers. Some recent events have included Bible studies, singing, playing games, manicures and gardening. Recently, a group that knits and crotchets prayer shawls has been started.

Family Promise

Family Promise is a community wide, interfaith program designed to provide families in crisis with a place to stay together as a family, and assistance in solving the underlying causes of their homelessness. Currently, there are over 850 homeless children in the William S. Hart School District, signaling an important need here in our local community. This successful nationwide program is designed not only to provide transitional housing for homeless families, but to help individuals become self-sufficient again through individualized training, counseling, and support services.

Family Promise of Santa Clarita Valley is in the development stage at this time, aiming to welcome guests in 2011. Volunteers are needed now to assist in the organizational efforts currently underway in communications, fundraising, publicity, recruiting, and planning/administration.

Prayer Shawl

No experience is necessary to join the Prayer Shawl ministry. Gathering on the first Tuesday of the month in the evening at the church, the group prays, knits, crochets, and shares in a time of fellowship. New members are warmly welcomed and basic instruction on how to knit or crochet as well as extra needles, hooks and yarn are always available.

The prayer shawls are a powerful reminder of God's love for each of us. The crafters are blessed through their work, and the recipients are blessed with the gift of prayer and support. Prayer shawls are available for anyone to share with family and friends who are in need of prayer support and they are given to individuals listed on the church prayer chain.

Congregational Care Team

Prayer and support are the cornerstones of this in-person and phone visitation ministry. During times of transition such as grief, illness, surgery, newly married or the birth of a baby, the trained congregational care team provides support through prayer and visitation.

Visits take place in pairs and are offered in the hospital, at home, nursing centers, assisted living or through phone calls. Members of the team choose the time and location that they would like to visit. Training and meetings take place in the evening approximately every two months and the date is determined by the trainer's schedule.